Consumer Products

AP and Xinhua sign historic photo distribution agreement

AP President and CEO Tom Curley, left, and Xinhua President Li Congjun congratulate each other after signing a commercial photo distribution agreement on June 5 in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The Associated Press and the Xinhua News Agency have signed an agreement for the distribution of AP photos in China.

Under the agreement, Xinhua will sell AP photos in China. While AP and Xinhua have had a mutual text and photo exchange for many years, the new agreement is the first commercial contract between the two news agencies.

At a signing ceremony June 5 at Xinhua headquarters in Beijing, AP President and CEO Tom Curley said the agreement “allows us to take advantage of the changes in the world and allows us to use this historic moment as a bridge to wider understanding between the AP and Xinhua and between China and the United States.”

Xinhua President Li Congjun said: “The commercial cooperation of AP and Xinhua addresses the growing demands of media. Signing of this photo distribution agreement marks a new commercial era of bilateral cooperation, which promotes existing friendly cooperative relations and enriches the contents and patterns of cooperation between the two news agencies. It also supplements our News Exchange Agreement, which has been maintained since 1957. On the basis of this commercial agreement, we will enjoy a broader prospect of cooperation."

About The AP

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP. On the Web: www.ap.org